Machine for making medical swabs



Jan. 14, 1941. s w GUCKSTQN 2,228,599

MACHINE FOR MAKING MEDICAL SWABS Filed Sept. 9, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 11INVENTOR.

34/1051 14/ filxrA J'mm BY Z L ATTORNEY.

Jan. 1941- 's. w. GLICKSTON 2,228,599

MACHINE FOR MAKING MEDICAL SWABS BY- Z ATTORNEY.

Jan. 14, 1941. s. w. GLICKSTON 2,228,599

MACHINE FOR MAKING MEDICAL SWABS Filed Sept. 9, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR. firm/1 fillcrrm/v BY I ATTORNEY.

Jan. 14, 1941. s. w. GLICKSTAON 2,228,599

MACHINE FOR MAKING MEDICAL SWA-BS Filed Sept. 9, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR. $0405! 14/ fiz/m mmm ATTORNEY.

Jan. 14, 1941. s. w@ GLICKSTON MACHINE FOR MAKING MEDICAL SWABS FiledSept; 9, 1959 TSheets-Sheet 5 1 N VE N TOR 511M051 il/ 617M170 MATTORNEY.

' Jan. 14, 1941. 7 5w; GLICKSTON I 2,228,599

MACHINE FOR MAKING" MEDICAL SWABS I Filed Sept 9, 1939 'T Sheet's-Sheet7 1N VEN TOR. 62/ 105! #1 Goa Array- ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 14, v e

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,228,599 N MACHINE Foa MAKING MEDICAL swAnsSamuel W. Gliekston, Rockville Centre, N. Y. Application September a,1939, Serial No. 294,133 10 Claims. (Cl. 19-145) This invention relatesto new and useful im-- Fig. 8 is a broken horizontal section taken onprovements in machines for applying fibrous maline 8-8 of Fig. 6; terialto various members, and relates more par- Fig. 9 is a broken,transverse, vertical section ticularly to an automatic machine formaking taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 6; medical swabs and the like, thepresent applica- Fig. 10 is a-broken, transverse, vertical section 5tion constituting a continuation in part of my cotaken on line Ill-illof Fig. 6; pending application Serial No. 141,274. 1 Fig. 11 is a.broken, longitudinal section taken Medical swabs for many years havebeen made on line ll-II of Fig. '1; by hand, this operation consistinggenerally of Fig. 12 is a broken, longitudinal, vertical section 10holding a small piece of cotton between two flntaken through one of thecotton shapers and the 10 gers and twirling the end of a stick while inforward pair of rollers; and engagement with this cotton, thus forming atip Fig. 13 is a broken, longitudinal, vertical section about the end ofthe stick. taken through one of the shapers showing the Iniinyco'-pending application I disclosed an substantially finished swab and"the means for 15 automatic machine whereby cotton was appliedmedicating-such swab. 15 to each end of a stick, the machine consistingThe machine constituting the present invengenerally ofstick-transporting means whereby tion includes a pair of spaced verticalframe memthe stick, during its course of movement, forces berslllprovided with horizon al portions II which the terminals of webs ofcotton into recessed are mounted on a suitable support, such frameshapers and after the stick has been so positioned members being securedat their lower ends in 20 with its terminals in the shapers the shapersare their spa relation y m a s of a horizontal caused to revolve,therebywinding the ribbon of frame member I2 having vertical P s 1cotton abo t, th n of t t k as shown in Fig. 1. The frame structurefurther 'Ihe present appficatjon is directed primarily includesa secondset Of vertical frame members to the subject matter of said co pendingappnca plovlded wlth horizontal Mons '5, 8.150 tion, more emphasis,however, being given t t mounted on the horizontal support ad acent toprecise structure of the machine and to its operathe opposed terminalsof the portions Each tion than was given in my earlier application. ofthe frame members and is desirably The present application is also acontinuation-informed with substantially triangularfeinforcing 3 rtofmc-endin alictinS l J 0 2 on 2 5 i g g g f em 9 A malndrive shaft i9 18journalled in all four frame members, the shaft having an idler pulleyIn the drawings. Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine con- 20 atone end thereof and driver pulley stituting the presently preferred emment of adjacent thereto, such latter pulley being driven the presentinvention, a portion of the framework g z r i $23 3 ted with a suitablesource of 35 thereof being shown in section; p n s Fig. 2 is a top planview of the main operative The OOttOn'PTePaTin-Y portion of the machine,the stick hopper having ll of t vi members in t e ma hine ar beenremoved; driven by the drive shaft I9 and the stretching 40 Fig. 3 is anelevation of the left hand side of d fl t i rollers for preparing the coto the machine felative to p 1, portions f the together with thesupporting means therefor, will framework having been removed to showcertain he the first of such nflembelis to P descrlbed- An of theinternal portions of thepapparatus; angle bracket 26 (Fig. 3) issuitably secured to Fig. 4 is an elevation of the right hand side. ofthe rear vex-meal edges of the frame members 45 the machine, a portionof the stick hopper being :5 3:12:233i g z g g g gizi figfigg gf brokeni tween such frame members.

Fig. 5 IS a partial side of the elevation of the A horizontal plate 28is secured on the upper machme' certam portions of the framework beingsurface of said bracket and extends somewhat to 30 broken away to showcertain operative parts of the rear f such fram members Adjacentlto thesuch machine; outer terminal of this plate a block 29 is secured 61S a blongitudinal, Vertical Section V and a pair of spaced channels 30 aremounted taken through the centerof the machine; above the plate 28 bymeans of supports 3i ex- Fig. 7 is a transverse, horizontal sectiontaken tending diagonally upwardly from the block 29. is on line of Fig.6; The two channels 30 are spaced apart a distance i equal tosubstantially the length of the sticks to which the cotton is applied ateach end thereof.

A length of cotton 33 from a roll (not shown) passes over each of thechannels 38 and passes between three pairs of rollers, the rollersconstituting each pair being positioned one above the other. Inasmuch aseach shaft carries two spaced (upper and lower) are desirably formedwith longitudinal splines which firmly engage the cotton in its passagetherethrough and flatten the same. In some instances, however, dependingon the precise character and texture of the cotton, the upper roller ineach pair may be formed with splines, or may be otherwise non-smooth,and the lower roller may be smooth, or vice versa. This, of course, is amatter of choice and expediency.

The forward rollers 38 are illustrated as formed with two way,diagonally disposed recesses in order to give these rollers an evenfirmer grip upon the cotton just before it is applied to the stick. Theshafts 48, H, 43 and 44, carrying the rearward rollers 31 and 38, arejournalled in vertical frame members 41 having horizontal flanges 48(Fig. 3) at their lower ends, such flanges being mounted on the uppersurface of the plate 28. In order to give the rollers on the upperrearward shaft H a measure of vertical adjustability, a vertical slot 49is formed in each frame member 41 and the shaft is journalled in aslotted bearing block 58 whieh is vertically movable within such slot,as shown in Figs. 6 and '1. Vertical adjustment of the block is obtainedby means ofv a screw 5| mounted at its upper end in a horizontalcrosspiece 52.

The shafts 39 and 42 carrying the upper and lower forward rollers 36 arejournalled in the upper end of the main frame members I8 and the shaft39 and the shaft 43 extend into the frame members I4 as well (Fig. 2).In order to properly stretch the web of cotton into a flat ribbon whichmay be suitably wound about the stick to form the swab, the forwardrollers 36 turn at a greater speed than the rollers 31 and the rearwardrollers 38 revolve slower than the rollers 31. The following means areprovided for causing the shafts to revolve in this manner.

A short shaft 55 (Figs. 1 and 2) is journalled between the left handframe members I8 and I4, such shaft having a sprocket wheel 56 keyedthereto. A sprocket wheel 51 is also keyed to the drive shaft I9 and achain 58 connects these sprockets. A gear 59 on the shaft 55 drives agear 68 on the shaft 39 carrying the upper forward rollers 36. A gear 6|on the shaft 43 carrying the intermediate lower rollers 31 is alsoengaged by the gear 68, such gear 5| being larger than the gear 68 inorder to drive the shaft 43 slower than the shaft 39. A gear 62 also onthe shaft 43 engages an idler 63 which in turn engages a gear 64 on thelower rearward shaft 44, the gear 84 being larger than the gear 83 inorder to drive the shaft 44 slower than the shaft 43. Rotation of thelower shaft 44 is transmitted to the short upper shaft M (Fig. 5) bymeans of gears 65 and the rotation of the shaft 43 is transmitted to theshaft 48 by means of gears 66..

Thus shafts 43 and 44, respectively, are driven progressively slowerthan the upper shaft 38 carrying the forward rollers and rotativemovement of shaft 39 is transmitted to lower forward shaft 42 by meansof gears 61.

The stick feeding mechanism A substantially rectangular hopper 12 forthe sticks is mounted on the upper ends of the frame members I8. Acylindrical stick carrier 13 is mounted on a shaft 14 at the lower endof the hopper, such carrier being formed with a pair of spaced annularportions 15, such annular portions being formed with a plurality ofequally spaced recesses 16 into which the sticks 11 fall to bedeliveredto the cotton winding position. In order toagitate the sticks and at thesame time keep them in substantial alignment with the aligned recesses16 in the stick carrier 13, 9. cylindrical member 18 having longitudinalsplines 19 is mounted on a shaft 88 at the lower end of the hopper. Asmall gear III at the outer end of this shaft is driven by a largeridler gear 82 which in turn is driven by a gear 83 on the shaft 55 (Fig.3).

At the opposite end of the shaft 88 a hub 86 is keyed and a drivinglever or arm 81 is eccentri cally mounted at one end thereof on thishub, the opposite end of the lever carrying a block 38 which is adaptedto reciprocate when the shaft 88 revolves. A shaft 89 passing throughthis block is connected by means not shown to a hinged door 98 (Fig. 6)at the rear lower side of the hopper. Thus, as the shaft 88 carrying thesplined cylindrical member rotates, the door oscillates, therebysufllciently agitating the sticks to move the same into the recesses 16in the stick carrier as the latter revolves.

The following means are provided for imparting relatively slow butcontinuous rotation to the shaft 14 carrying the stick carrier 13. Asmall gear 92 at the inner end of the shaft 55 engages the teeth of aninternal gear 93 (Fig. 2). Thus the sticks are carried, one by one, inthe direction of the arrow in Fig. 6 and a curved guide plate 95prevents the sticks from falling from the recesses 16.

As the sticks continue their arcuate movement, an adhesive is applied totheir terminals in the following manner. A reservoir 96 having a closurecap 91 for the filling inlet and an overflow indicator 93, is mountedadjacent to the upper end of the hopper. The adhesive passes downwardthrough a pair of spaced feed pipes 99 having thumb-tum valve I88 andvisible indicating means IN. The adhesive passes out through smallterminal pipes I82 onto applying roller I83 mounted on a shaft I84journalled between the frame members I8. Thus, as the stick continuesits downward movement, the terminals thereof are engaged by adhesiveapplying rollers which are caused to rotate by means of a gear I88 atone end of the shaft I84, such gear engaging an idler I81, in turnengaged by an idler I88, which latter is driven by the gear 83 on'theshaft 55 (Fig. 3). In order to prevent the stick from bending whilebeing engaged by the adhesive applying rollers, it is engaged in thecenter by a resilient roller H8 in the center of the shaft I84.

Referring now to Fig. 6, the stick continues its arcuate movementapproximately it being held in the recesses 16 all during the movementby means of the curved guide plate 95. An ejector I I5 made from flatspring steel projects into the recess between the annular portions 15having the recesses 16 therein, and when the stick reaches its maximumlowered position adjacent to the terminal of the guide plate 33 it isejected from such recesses 16 and falls into the aligned recesses H6 ina plurality of spaced annular flanges II1 formed in a second rotary]stick carrier II3 mounted on shaft I I3. In the, bodiment shown, thisstick carrier is provided with four sets of equally spaced alignedrecesses II3. This car- .rier, unlike the constantly rotating carrier13,

is intermittently rotatable through an arc of 90, the following drivingmeans being provided. The main drive shaft I3 is provided at its righthand terminal with a gear I22, sucl gear engaging an idler I23 carryinga sprocket I24. A chain I2I connects this sprocket with a secondsprocket I25 carried on a shaft I23 Journalled between the two righthand frame members I3 and I4. In order to give the chain adjustabletensioning means, an idler sprocket I I I is mounted on an arm I I2secured to the frame III.

The shaft I26 carries a conventional driving element I28 of a Genevamovement, the element comprising a driving pin I23 (Fig. 5) and aconcentric locking surface I 33. The driven element I3I is a four starmember and is mounted on a stud shaft I32 and comprises four slots I33and intermediate concavely curved surfaces I34. Thus one revolution ofthe driver I23 imparts one quarter revolution to the driven elementwhich also carries an idler I36 engaging a gear I31 on the shaft II3.

The cotton winding mechanism The arcuate movement of the stick from thetime it leaves the first stick carrier 13 until it comes to rest for thecotton winding operation, shown at S in Fig. 6, is shown in detail inFigs. 11 and 12. The cotton 33 is constantly fed, as heretofore stated,through the forward rollers 36 and the forward terminal of such cottonpasses slightly beyond the vertical recess in the intermittentlyrotating shaper, 0 which there are two. The construction an operation ofsuch shapers will now be described.

The shaper I40 is desirably made in two halves, forming, when assembled,a generally cylindrical member. A recess I4I extends from the upper tothe lower surface thereof, this recess being shaped to form the swabaround the terminal of the stick, as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Theshaper further has a reduced portion I42 between this portion and itsinner terminal. The two portions of the shaper are bolted together asshown at I43, a circular longitudinal recess I48 being formed betweenthe two portions to receive the shafts I44 and I45, respectively, uponwhich they are mounted. In order to permit the stick to enter the recessat its upper end with more ease, there is formed a cut-away portion asshown at I46 and further arcuate movement of the stick after the swab isformed is facilitated by means of a cut-away portion I41 at thelowerside of the shaper. Fig. 11 showsthe cotton having been fed beyond therecess I on the upper surface of the shaper, and the stick 11 isfollowing its 90 arcuate movement to the swab forming position shown atS in Fig. 6. During;

this movement the former is stationary and as thestick continues tomove, it engages the cotton and moves it into the recess and downwarduntil the stick is aligned with the axis of the shaper.

During the rotary movement of the shaper the stick is held immovable bythe following means. A pair of knurled rollers I53, are freely mountedon a shaft I5I supported-on abracket I52 (Figs. 6, 7 and 10) Thisbracket also supports the ejector lliwhlchiscurvedandalsoactsasaguideplate for retaining the stick in the wa a: II6 while beingcarriedbythestickcarrier H3.

The bracket I i2 is adjustahly mounted on the flange bymeansofascrewI64andtheknurled rollers supported by this bracket are so adjustedrelativetothe II6inthecan'ie1-II3when the stick is at S (Fig. 6) as torelatively flrmly engage the stick to prevent rotation thereof. Bymounting these rollers freely on the shaft such rollers do not impedethe movement of the stick into and out of their stationary positionduring the swab forming'operatio After the terminals of the stick havedescended into the I43 in the shapers and have moved the cotton intoplace therein the shapers are revolved, thus forming the swab, by thefollowing means. A large gear I31, mounted on the main drive shaft I3 isprovided with teeth I53 over something les than half its periphery. Asthis gear rotates constantly it intermittently engages the teeth of asmaller gear I53 mounted on a shaft I63. Also mountedonthisshaftareapairofspacedlargergears I62 and I63 engaging smallergears I64 and I36, respectively, on the short shafts I44 and I46carrying the shapers I43. It is desirable, of course, to hold the shaftI 63 against rotation except while the teeth I53 are engaging the gearI53 and to accomplish this a cam member I63 having a concentric surfaceI63 engaging a concave surface I13 on a disc "I carried on shaft I63,all as shown in Fig. 3, are provided.

7 After the shapers have turned their appropriate number of revolutions,the rotary carrier I I3 again turns through an arc of 90', therebypositioning the stick, with the cotton wrapped around each end, at thepoint indicated at S (Fig. 6), at which point it again stops wherein itis centrally scored in order to weaken the stick sufficiently to enableit to be cleanly broken if desired.

' The scoring roller I12 is made from a number of discs of resilientmaterial mounted on a shaft I13. This shaft is provided with a. sprocketI14 at one end which is connected by a chain I15 to a sprocket I16 onthe main drive shaft I3. An idler.

sprocket I11 keeps this chain tight.

.A cutting disc III is positioned between the portions of the roller andthe discs I12 are held in engagement with the cutting discs by means ofcircular end plates I13 mounted in shaft I13 (Fig. 9). This disc'I33 isof a slightly smaller diameter than the external diameter of the rollersI12 except for the cutting portion I3I (Fig. 6), which portion extendsbeyond the periphery of the rollers. when the stick is carried by therotary carrier III to the lower position indicated atS', such carrieragain ceases movement and the constantly rotating rollers I12 rotate thestick while the same is positioned within the aligned recesses II6 ofthe carrier H3 and when the cutting portion I3I of the cutting discengages the stick, a slight scoring is made. It will be apparent thatduring one revolution of the rollers I12, the stick is given severalrevolutions and during such rotary movement the tips of the stick Esement with members I34 having recesses I33 shaped to fit such terminalportions of the swab. Each member I34 is provided with a small verticalaperture I36 therethrough and a small tube I81 (Fig. 13) is positionedjust above such aperture, the tube leading to a supply of a suitablecarrying the rotary stick carrier I I8, is so timed as to rotate aquarter-turn after the scoring rollers have turned one completerevolution. The scoring rollers and cutters are provided with alignedrecesses I88, which recesses receive the stick from the position shownat S and carries the same downward, the stick being removed from therecess I IS in the stick carrier by means of a curved spring member I89,also shown in Fig. 6. The stick is removed from this recess I88 by meansof a finger I90 and the finished swab drops downwardly between suchfinger I90 and a springpressed finger I9I onto a platform I92, which maycontain the boxes in which the finished swabs are packed.

The actual winding of the cotton to form the finished swab is completedby the rotary formers I48 in the position shown at S in Fig. 13 andaccordingly the true function of the members I84 is to support thecotton terminals of the swab during the scoring operation to prevent thestick being bent to breaking point. Also, the members I84 provide meansfor applying medication to the swab terminals.

It will be apparent that many modifications and changes may be made inthe foregoing specific embodiment of the present invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims. Forinstance, other stick feeding means may be employed than thoseillustrated, and if desired, the scoring operation may be eliminatedentirely. Also, conveyor means for transporting the boxes into which thecompleted swabs drop, such as is disclosed in my co-pending applicationSer. No. 248,764, may be added to the present machine. Furthermore,whereas the present machine is adapted to form a swab at each terminalof a relatively short stick, it will be apparent that one set of formersmay be removed, or the machine may be otherwise modified to form a swabat one end only of a stick of any suitable length.

What I claim is: v

1. A machine of the type described comprising a rotary former having anelongated, radially disposed recess therein, means for feeding a lengthof ribbon-like material adjacent to the former, means for moving aterminal of a stick and the ribbon-like material into the former andmeans for revolving the former.

2. A swab making machine comprising a rotary former having an elongated,radially disposed recess therein, means for feeding a strip of materialand the terminal of a stick or the like into the former and means forrevolving the former while the stick is held immovable to wrap thematerial about the end of the stick.

3. A swab making machine comprising cotton feeding mechanism, a rotaryformer, means for moving cotton and stick into' the former having anelongated, radially disposed recess therein, means for revolving theformer to wind the cotton about the stick and means for applying asolution to the cotton.

4.- A swab making machine comprising a rotary former, means for feedinga length of fibrous material adjacent to the former having an'elongated, radially disposed recess therein, means for moving aterminal of a stick and the length of fibrous material into the former,means for supporting the stick while in such position and means forrevolving the former to wind the fibrous material therearound.

5. A machine for making swabs of the class described comprising a pairof spaced rotary formers having longitudinal recesses extending inwardlyfrom one end thereof, means for feeding the terminal of a flattened webof cotton or the like beyond the recesses in the formers, such meanscomprising a pair of feed rollers between which the cotton is fed, astick hopper and means for withdrawing sticks, one by one, from thehopper and moving the terminals of such stick into engagement with thecotton and into the recess in the former, means for revolving the formerto wind the cotton about the terminals of the stick, and means forsevering a length of cotton from the web after the former has made apartial revolution.

6. A machine for making swabs of the class described comprising a frame,a rotary former journalled within the frame and having a longitudinalrecess extending inwardly from the end thereof, means for feeding theterminal of a flattened web of cotton or the like beyond the recess inthe former, such means comprising a plurality of pairs of rollersbetween each of which the cotton is fed, means for revolving the forwardrollers more rapidly than the rearward ones to stretch and flatten thecotton, a stick carrier adapted to move a terminal of a stick intoengagement with the cotton and then move cotton and stick terminal intothe recess in the former, means for revolving the former to wind thecotton about the terminal of the stick, the former revolving at suchspeed relative to the speed of rotation of the forward rollers as tosever a length of cotton from the web. v

7. A machine for making swabs of the class described comprising a rotaryformer having a longitudinal recess extending inwardly from one endthereof, means for feeding the terminal of a flattened web of cotton orthe like beyond the recess in the former, such means comprising aplurality of pairs of rollers between each of which the cotton is fed,means for revolving the forward rollers more rapidly than the rearwardones to stretch and flatten the cotton, 9. stick hopper and means forwithdrawing sticks, one by one, from the hopper and moving a terminal ofsuch stick into engagement with the cotton and into the recess in theformer, means for revolving the former to wind the cotton about theterminal of the stick, the initial rotary movement of the formersevering a length of cotton'from the web, means for moving the stickwith the cotton wrapped therearound to a second station, means forapplyingfa solution to the swab end of the stick and for centrallyscoring the stick at such station and means for revolving the stickthereat.

8. A machine for making medical swabs comprising a rotary former havinga longitudinal recess therein extending inwardly from one end thereof,cotton feeding means for delivering the terminal of a flattened web ofcotton to apoint beyond such recess, a stick hopper and means forwithdrawing sticks, one by one, from such hopper and moving a temiinalof such stick while in engagement with the cotton, into the recess inthe former, means for severing alength of cotton from the web and meansfor rotating the former, thus wrapping the severed length of cottonabout the terminal of the stick while the latter is held immovable and'means for dis charging the stick with the cotton wrapped therearound.

9. A machine for making medical swabs comprising a rotary former havingan elongated, radially disposed recess therein, cotton feeding meanscomprising a plurality of rollers for delivering the terminal of a webof cotton to a point beyond such recess, means for moving a terminal ofa stick and the cotton into the former, and means for rotating theformer to wrap the cotton 5 about the terminal of the stick.

10. A machine for making medical swabs comprising a rotary' formerhaving a recess therein, cotton feeding means for delivering theterminal of a web of cotton to a point beyond such recess,

a stick hopper and means for withdrawing sticks,

and means for discharging the stick with the cotton wrapped therearound.

, SAMUEL W. GLICKSTON.

